Scouts win in the waning seconds

Palatine is one of the most improved boys basketball teams in the area, as Lake Forest found out Saturday night.

With the game tied, the host Pirates were holding the ball for potential game-winning shot when Lake Forest guard Mitch Hopfinger stole the ball from Michael Orris at midcourt and went in for the decisive layup with nine seconds left to give the Scouts (7-2) a hard-earned 48-46 victory. Jake Velinski’s 18-footer at the buzzer rimmed out for Palatine.

“Great players make great plays at the end of games,” Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala said. “He’s done it a couple times for us now. That was a huge one for him.”

Hopfinger led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds, but the 6-4 senior had been held scoreless for over nine minutes before scoring his team’s final four points.

“They did a great job on me and it was tough to do anything with their defense,” Hopfinger said. “They were holding for the last shot, obviously, and my guy was back in the corner and [Orris] turned his back. When I saw that, I ran so I could get the ball and try to make a play.”

Lake Forest led by as many as nine points in the third quarter before the Pirates (5-6), who have already surpassed last season’s win total, roared back to take a 36-35 lead after three quarters on a three-pointer by Mykyta Cheshko.

Palatine led 44-41 before Tommy Durrett tied it with a three-pointer with 2:21 to play in the fourth quarter. Nat Pearson’s runner in the lane with 1:23 left put the Pirates ahead 46-44, but Hopfinger answered with a drive with 1:03 remaining.

Orris and Cheshko led Palatine with 11 points apiece, while Tommy Galvan added nine points. Josh Bruns scored 10 points and Durrett had nine for Lake Forest.